In 2004, a lawsuit was brought against Cracker Barrel
Old Country Restaurants (owned by the CBRL Group,
Inc.) for racial discrimination against customers. The US
Justice Department alleged that the restaurant chain
discriminated against African-American customers and
prospective customers in some southern US states
by sometimes segregating customers by race and
giving superior service to white customers, and even
occasionally refusing to serve African-Americans. An
investigation by the US Justice Department identified
evidence of discrimination in approximately 50 restaurants
in seven southern states.
The case was resolved when Cracker Barrel agreed to
adopt and enforce effective non-discrimination policies
and procedures, including the implementation of
training programmes for employees and systems to
deal with discrimination complaints, and to
105 See also the case studies regarding ICCPR Article 18 (freedom
of thought, conscience and religion), as well as the case study
regarding Malaysian Airlines at ICESCR Article 10 (right to family life)
at page 110.
permit external auditing of its practices for five years.
The company did not, however, admit to any wrongdoing
and maintains that it has long had policies in
place banning discrimination.
In 2004, the company also settled a separate series
of lawsuits brought or supported by the NAACP
(National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People). Donald Turner, the chain’s president and
chief operating officer, noted that: “This matter has
been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction and the parties
are now ready to move forward.” He added that
“Cracker Barrel is very pleased with this settlement.”
Cracker Barrel’s Public Accommodation Policy Statement
stipulates that: “No Cracker Barrel employee
may discriminate against any Cracker Barrel guest
or would-be guest on the basis of race, colour, age,
national origin, gender, religion, disability, or sexual
orientation.” Employees are required to report violations
of the policy to management. The company also
pledged not to penalise any employee that in good
faith reports violations of the policy to the authorities.
Web-based sources:
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/May/04_crt_288.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2004-05-07-cracker-barrel_x.htm
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,131897,00.html
http://www.crackerbarrel.com
http://www.cbrlgroup.com/tempj.cfm?doc_id=93